Interview from April 2003 with Belgium's ConcreteWeb.be webzine.
ConcreteWeb.be: Scorched Earth Policy has been around since 97, can you summarise what has happened to the band during this period in a nutshell?
Guitarist Mark Lamb: Lance, Carlos and I have been together as the core of S.E.P. since ’97. Our first year was pretty much an experiment with me sharing vocals with Jimmy Walker (now with Manmade God). Basically just trying to sift through the pile of material we had and trying to write good songs and figuring out how to present them best. We recorded and then released the Insurrection EP in the beginning of 98. Decided that we needed a real singer, so then we got our old friend John Miller in the mix and wrote/recorded “Tones of Ambivalence” and “Bootcamp” respectively and put them out, later re-released as one CD through Rage of Achilles. Things didn’t work with Miller so we got Richard Perot and bassist Terry Goss and wrote/recorded “Salvage Nothing”.
CW: Personally I can't understand that SEP hasn't released a full album during your 6 years of existence. What I mean is how can the record companies deny you that long when you have the sounds and when so many lame ass Scandinavian and especially German / Italian bands do release record after record?
Mark: Yeah, that’s getting kind of old. I think it comes down to the fact that maybe they don’t have a clear concept on how to market us. In their eyes, we’re probably not extreme enough for the grindcore/death metal/hardcore crowd, yet too heavy for the major label/commercial radio stuff.
For us, it seems very simple. We’re a metal band that strives to write good songs with the intention of presenting them on timeless recordings and an intense live show- nothing more, nothing less. And as a lifelong metalhead, that’s all the criteria I need to buy a new album. We don’t need a lot of money to make and promote a great record - just a little monetary/business help. Our ideal situation would be a label that has good U.S./Worldwide distribution that would give us a few bucks to record with and then push the hell out of it with us touring our asses off in support. No frills, van-style, of course. I think that everyone would get the picture at that point.
CW: I have read some very good demo reviews, has this also translated to good demo sales or more coverage/gigs and merchandise sales?
Mark: It’s been pretty good. We’ve been able to get some good shows and correspond with people from all over the world. That’s pretty cool.
CW: SEP is most definitely a Metal band and although you're probably always going to be linked to many of your Bay Area / Oakland counterparts, I hear a lot of different influences. Can you name some of the artists, albums or other inspiring influences?
Mark: Yeah, we’re fully a metal band, but at the same time we are 5 music nerds who like a lot of different stuff. Right now I’m listening to Mastodon, before that it was early 70’s Charlie Daniel’s band, before that it was the Oscar Peterson Trio with Ray Brown on bass, Sabbath with Dio, De La Soul, Elvis Presley and Napalm Death. That’s just one member’s perspective. With everyone else, Kiss, King Crimson, Maiden, Jane’s Addiction, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mercyful Fate, you name it. Anything that’s real. As far as being linked to the Bay Area, 4 of us are transplants from different places in the U.S. that were drawn here because of all the good music that’s come out of this region over the years. If people hold us in that same esteem, we’re very flattered.
CW: From the outside SEP seem like a very political band but I never get that feeling when listening to the music, am I wrong or is this intentional?
Mark: We’re definitely not a political band. That shit has been done before by people more qualified than we are. As far as our album artwork goes, we’ve always favored a mix of the apocalyptic with some dark humor thrown in. That’s what we picture when we hear our songs. With the Rage of Achilles release, they really wanted all of this serious political/social unrest sort of stuff which we felt didn’t really represent what we’re all about. I like the artwork on the original releases better. Oh well, live and learn - the next time we let someone release our music, we will have 100% say in what the finished product looks like.
CW: The core is getting restless? Would you care to comment on the current political environment or should entertainers refrain from that and concentrate on the music?
Mark: As far as all of the so-called “celebrities” and “entertainers” that I see on TV spouting off their beliefs on all sides of the current world situation, ya know, run for office, become a military strategist or join a humanitarian relief organization. Do something meaningful instead of fucking around with this entertainment industry bullshit. If you’re not making that commitment, I don’t give a fuck what your political views are. Shut up and entertain me. That being said, as human beings and Americans, we hope that all deserving parties come out of this year alive and well.
CW: You guys don't look like twenty anymore, tell us what does still drive you to do this and also what do you guys do (hobbies, jobs) when you're not busy doing music?
Mark: We’re a little older than that and all have our day jobs and stuff. None of us have kids or anything like that - this band is our baby. We have hours upon hours of ideas that we haven’t had a chance to finalize yet and that’s what keeps us inspired to move forward. With no label support, this band pretty much occupies all of our time.
CW: Tell us about Oakland, the city, the clubs, the people, life, music, schools and whether or not we should visit Oakland instead of San Francisco, what is the difference between its inhabitants anyway?
Mark: I’m not really qualified to answer that question as I’ve only lived here for about 10 years now, but my initial impression is that Oakland is pretty much a hard-working blue-collar kind of town where as San Francisco can tend to be a little more upscale. But when you get down to it, they’re just like any other urban area in the U.S., they both have their nice areas, filthy and disgusting areas and cool little cultural spots. The climate is the best thing. It’s usually a mild 50 to 70 degrees most of the year. The worst thing is that it’s expensive as fuck to live here. We pay $600 (U.S.) a month for a rehearsal space. That’s re-goddamn-diculous!
CW: If we would give you a "sensible" card blanche then what would you do with your music, where would you take it, whom would you like to record with and how would it sound eventually?
Mark: As I said in question 2, we could make a killer record with a modest budget. With “reasonable carte blanche”, hell, we’d just take our old friends Thilo Fehlinger and Juan Urteaga into a nice studio and go to town. A little dough to make a record with those guys and a label in place to promote it and get us touring the world would be great. The ultimate pipe dream would be to make a reasonable working man’s salary from playing this shit and touring in a bus instead of a van. But, dream on……… . Other producers we really dig would be Billy Anderson, Andy Sneap, Alex Newport, Steve Albini, Colin Richardson, Neil Kernon, etc…….
CW: Don't let it bring you down is a very original cover, Neil Young is hardly a guy you associate with metal - why did you choose him. Also the vocals on this one reminded me of Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon (RIP).
Mark: Ouch!!! Well, we recorded that song for a Neil Young tribute album that is suppose to come out on MetalEdge Records sometime in 2003. I’ve always dug his first 3 or 4 solo records and also the early CSN&Y stuff. He’s not necessarily the world’s greatest singer or guitar player but he wrote some great songs that were completely raw, cutting edge and from the soul - all with a sound that was unmistakably his own. In the end, that’s all any true artist strives for and he achieved that a few decades ago. When we were approached about contributing a song, we played around with a few different ones, but “Don’t Let it Bring You Down” seemed to gel the best with the band in the first few takes. So that was it.
CW: Can you name 3 underground bands that are equally as good as you guys but are also still struggling for recognition?
Mark: Stomach, Peyote Calamity, Something Must Die, Golden Gods, Primate
CW: What's up next for you guys, touring wise or recording wise - another demo- another sound or what?
Mark: Right now we are focused on pushing “Salvage Nothing” and playing shows in places that we haven’t really hit that hard in the past. Basically getting in the van and going for it. We’ve also got about 5 or 6 new tunes that we are busy finalizing and we’ll use these gigs to test drive them before we go back into the studio. There will definitely be a new Scorched-Earth Policy recording in the works by years end.
CW:: If in 2006 you still haven't released your debut album (unless you count the combined Rache for Achilles effort), will you then continue to shred?
Mark: That’s hard to say. If we are inspired and making music that we dig and there are people that still want to hear it, then the answer would definitely be “maybe”. The prospect of being in our mid-thirties and playing in the same unsigned metal band for nine years and spending all of our time and money to keep it afloat is not that appealing to any of us. At that point, it might not be that painful to walk away from it knowing that we gave it everything we had and knowing we have a respectable recorded history. We all have other things we could be doing in life, musically or otherwise. But right now we’re just having a blast creating new music and tearing it up live and we’ll continue to do so. Hopefully some respectable label will come to its senses before then and give us a shot.
CW: Any final statements for CW readers or questions, wishes?
Mark: Check out our website for full length MP3’s and tell us if they suck or not. We hope to visit your cities in the near future. Thanks for the interview and keep up the great work with ConcreteWeb!